Friday, November 8, 2013

I am Thankful for Tender Mercies

Today I saw a news story that Angie had shared on Facebook about a woman who donated her daughter's heart to another woman and what happened when they met. What a tear jerker! Having been in the same type of situation - my mom being the recipient of a teenage girl's liver, this really hit home and I lost it when the two women hugged. I was sobbing. I know that guilt that the recipient feels - my mom had it - but I also know the gratitude too...especially from the recipient's family's perspective. Without Brooke's liver, my mom would not have had an additional 8 or so years with us. We knew that very day who the donor was from things that occurred in the hospital and in the papers, but respected the family's privacy until they were ready to meet. I am so grateful to the Graviat family for sharing their daughter with our family. I personally felt Brooke's spirit around me in those first few days and I consider her my sister. What a special blessing!

Thomas S. Monson Said...

"With all the strength of my soul I testify that our Heavenly Father loves each one of us. He hears the prayers of humble hearts; He hears our cries for help. . . . His Son, our Savior and Redeemer, speaks to each of us today: 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him' (Revelation 3:20). Will we listen for that knock? Will we hear that voice? Will we open that door to the Lord, that we may receive the help He is so ready to provide? I pray that we will."

Henry B Eyring Said...

"I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done." As I have begun doing this in my own life I have witnessed the quiet beauty of recognizing the hand of the Lord in my life every day."

Neil A. Maxwell Said...

"When life is hard, remember - we are not the first to ask, 'Is there no other way?'"